Sperry Gardens c. 1936

This detailed drawing of "Sperry Gardens" was rendered by George Stonehill using an unknown medium. The whole piece feels like a playful puzzle, doesn't it? The pale green wash in the negative space is like a stage for the drama of the garden. Check out the square beds, each a mini-world of circular plantings, all neatly arranged. It's a bit like a board game, but with seeds instead of pawns. And look at those trees lining the side, perfect circles that are so round they're almost comical. Stonehill's work reminds me a little of Alfred Jensen’s map paintings, in that there's this sense of order, but also this underlying feeling that things are just a little bit off. The garden feels real, but it's also a dream of a garden. And isn't that what art is all about, really?